Argentine writer Eduardo Berti has been distinguished with the prestigious Roger Caillois Prize for his novel 'Faster', originally published in 2019. He thus joins a distinguished list of Argentine authors who have received this recognition, including Adolfo Bioy Casares, Ricardo Piglia, César Aira, Rodrigo Fresán, Martín Caparrós, Laura Alcoba, Alan Pauls, Samanta Schweblin, and Alberto Manguel. With this award, Berti also joins an international group of reference authors, such as Chileans Roberto Bolaño and José Donoso, Mexicans Carlos Fuentes and Fabio Morábito, Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, Guatemalan Eduardo Halfon, Cuban Leonardo Padura, and Brazilians Milton Hatoum and Chico Buarque, among others. Set in the late 1970s, 'Faster' tells the story of two teenagers, fans of The Beatles and Juan Manuel Fangio, whose desire to meet the mythical driver propels them on a decisive journey to a Mercedes-Benz dealership. That experience will mark a before and after in their lives. Inspired by the cookbook of French writer Georges Perec, Berti constructs an exercise in memory that addresses themes such as speed, friendship, fanaticisms, idols, and the twists of adolescence. The novel adopts the form of a fragmented autobiography and a personal chronicle, composed of brief episodes in which Fangio and, especially, George Harrison function as triggers for memory. Although traversed by the Argentine dictatorship, the work distances itself from the most common approaches and avoids a nostalgic look at the past. On the contrary, it questions the fictional nature of memory and the way memories transform when narrated. Created in 1991 in collaboration with the PEN Club of France, the Maison de l'Amérique latine and the Société des lecteurs et amis de Roger Caillois, the prize reaffirms the international projection of Berti's work and his strong insertion into the French cultural sphere. 'Faster' was published in France last year by the publisher La Contre Allée, while Impedimenta and Híbrida edited the novel in Spain and Argentina, respectively. 'This news really fills me with joy,' Berti wrote on his Facebook account, where he thanked the readers and publishers who, although they did not publish 'Faster', accompanied him in other projects.
